How Public Universities Close Budget Gaps Matters for States. Schools in Crisis: Making Ends Meet

Kinne, Alicia; Roza, Marguerite; Murphy, Patrick; Gross, Betheny

Center on Reinventing Public Education

When the Great Recession took its toll on state budgets, public universities felt the pain. Many public universities attempted to offset reductions in state funds by raising tuition, shifting admission spots to more out-of-state students, and, in some cases, increasing enrollment. For a given budget gap, these three strategies should be weighted both for their revenue-generating capacity and for their impact on the university's mission. This analysis considers how these three revenue-generating options compare for use in public flagship universities, first in terms of the relative magnitude needed to close a gap in state funds, and then in terms of the extent to which they contribute to degree production for students in their state. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 14 footnotes.)